Thursday, January 7, 2010

The C-SPAN television network, which regularly broadcasts debates in the US Congress, has challenged President Obama and the House and Senate majority leaders to allow television coverage of the negotiations that will produce a new health-care reform bill. Because the House and Senate passed different bills, the ordinary legislative process would call for a joint conference committee to reconcile the differences. But Democratic party leaders plan to circumvent that process, avoiding public scrutiny by introducing new bills in both houses. Brian Lamb of C-SPAN reminded President Obama that he had frequently “talked about the value of transparent discussions on reforming the nation’s health-care system.”